Workforce

DHS picks Marine, intelligence veteran as new CIO

Antoine McCord spent 18 years in a variety of cyber and national security roles, according to the agency.

March 14, 2025

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A Department of Homeland Security logo is seen inside a press conference room on May 11, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Department of Homeland Security has selected Antoine McCord as its new chief information officer, a spokesperson with the agency’s Management Directorate confirmed Friday.

As CIO, McCord will be tasked with overseeing DHS’s roughly $11 billion IT budget, the largest of any federal agency in fiscal 2025. A bio for McCord on the DHS website said he “emphasizes mission-driven leadership, focusing on operations to neutralize threats against the Department.”

Details about McCord’s background are scarce, beyond what’s contained in that DHS bio page. According to the agency, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, specializing in cyber and intelligence operations and “gaining hands-on experience in threat detection and technology integration.”

After his time with the Marines, McCord joined the U.S. Intelligence Community, according to DHS, in roles that saw him oversee cyber operations against advanced threats and serve as an adviser on national security issues.

McCord, who DHS said has more than 18 years of experience in cyber opse and national security, also spent time in the private sector in cybersecurity and defense technology roles, according to the agency.

Nextgov was first to report the news of McCord’s appointment.

McCord will be stepping into a CIO role that was filled during the Biden administration by Eric Hysen, who also led the department’s artificial intelligence efforts. Hysen, a Google alum and a founding member of the White House’s U.S. Digital Service, oversaw the creation of DHS’s AI Corps, the publication of an AI roadmap and the release of commercial generative AI guidance.

McCord joins Ross Graber at the Department of Energy and Pavan Pidugu at the Transportation Department as the latest CIO hire at a time when the Trump administration is eyeing changes to how the position is classified. An Office of Personnel Management memo sent last month recommended that agencies change CIO designations from “career reserved” to “general,” an apparent attempt to make the technical position more political.